Method of making dental trays



April s. SALABES I METHOD OF MAKING DENTAL TRAYS Filed Nov. 8, 1935 S .E MB T A MM IY W D 0 d S 2 G P Q w v.. B 7 n J W w m F m ///j \J n k Patented Apr. 5, 1938 2,113,223

UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKING DENTAL TRAYS Sody Salabes, Baltimore, Md. Application November 8, 1935, Serial No. 48,934 1 Claim. (01. 204-6) The present invention relates in general to a adequately provide for the size and form of the method of making dental trays for taking oral required impression.

impressions as apreparatory step to making den- The tray walls ID are hollow and continuous, tures and particularly to impression trays with forming a chamber consisting of outer walls H water cooled walls. and inner walls l2, joined at their margins, and 5 One object of the invention is to provide a in spaced relation to each other, the space 13 bequick cooling tray of less bulk and of less weight tween them providing for the circulation of the than those in present use, so as to facilitate posicooling medium. The tubes 14 and I5, respec-, tioning of the tray in the patients mouth and to tively, are inlet and outlet connection tubes for lessen discomfort to the patient. the circulation medium. These tubes may be 10 Anther object is to provide a tray having posimade integral with the tray or they may be fixed tive cooling means, so that the impression matei pl e after the tray is made- These tubes are rial will be properly and quickly cooled. The held in fixed relative position by the brace l6. manner of cooling the oral parts and the tray by The outer wall H and inner wall [2 are stifl- 15 means or" a spray of cool water projected into the ened and strengthened by means of a plurality of 15 patients mouth is unsatisfactory, uncertain and t b hlr l, Wh ch r f mp r iv y Sm l untidy. The cooling of the tray of this invention d ameter. The Walls of the tubulllres are coilis provided for by the circulation of a cooling tinuous With the inner and outer Walls of the medium throughout hollow tray wa11s. tray. When the impression material, in a warm Another object of the invention is to provide for plastic State, pressed in the y, it fi s h s bracing the thin tray walls to strengthen them tubu ur e a d W n the impressieh materiel and to provide locking means for retention of the cools and hardens, it is locked into Position by impression material in the tray when in use, means of the hardened material in the tubulures,

Other objects and advantages of the tray will that is to say, when the soft impression material be apparent from the following description in S p s d. against the Oral part to be modeled the 25 connection with the accompanying drawing material is also forced into the tubulures and which illustrates a preferred embodiment of the hardening, a it 00018, the y m y e r move invention, it being understood that detail changes o the p s mouth Without displacement and variation in shape may be made without of the material by the resultant suction action of departing from the scope or spirit of the insuch removal and without damage to the delicate 30 vention. contours of the impression. Models made from In the drawing: such impressions will very closely approximate to F gure l is a View, in perspective, of a tray the general configuration and character of the made by the method of the invention, showing p impressedinlet and outlet connections for the cooling mee t bll u y be of Simple Cylindrical 35 dium. shape or they may be made of truncated conical Figure 2 i an enlarged fragmentary View in form to provide for better anchorage. It is unsection taken on line z 2 of Figure derstood, however, that the tubulures may be Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary View in omitted altogether in some trays where they are section taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1. not deslred' 40 Figure 4 is a side elevation of the device illus- The method makhg the trays mphses the following steps:-

A mold for the tray core is first made. This mold may be of any suitable plastic material, plaster of Paris, metal, wood or any moldable material. This mold is made so that it approximates the general form and size of the part of trated in Figure 1.

The tray shown in Figure l is used for taking impressions of part of the oral cavity so that 45 from the impression thus obtained, a denture may be produced which will conform with great precision to the configuration of the part which the impression is to be taken, due allowpresselt By denture, in this connection, will be ance being made for the bulk of the impression understood such dental appliances as are in gent ial itself.

r l us to rep a or p v d th r parts Wh re A fusible alloy or material of low melting point they are needed and may take the form of crowns, is melted and poured into the mold. When this bridges, entire or partial plates or such other dehas solidified, which with such materials is genvices as are in use in oral and dental surgery and erally almost immediately, the molded core is it is understood that the tray is so fashioned as to removed from the mold and is ready for the next 55 step in the process. I have found that Lipowitz alloy, which is a well known composition of lead, tin, cadmium and bismuth gives an excellent result, although other alloys and suitable compositions may be used. While a mold has been described for casting the core, the core may be made directly from the fusible materials by working, stamping, carving, or other means.

The alloy core is next pierced with a number of small holes of the order of one sixteenth of an inch in diameter, the purpose of which will be made apparent below. While these holes are not essential to the method, they add to the usefulness, durability and efficacy of the finished tray.

The cast alloy core is next immersed in an electro-plating bath and thinly plated with a metal which is both tough enough and strong enough to maintain its shape when the tray is completed and in use. I have found copper plating gives an excellent result with light, strong Walls, and is both cheap and durable. Other metals such as nickel, chromium, cobalt, silver, and. gold or other material may be used. I have found electro-plating of the mold entirely satisfactory, although other plating methods may be used such as dip coating, spraying, swaging or combinations thereof under suitable conditions, and with suitable materials.

The plating step having been completed the next step is the discharging of the low melting point metal alloy by fusion in a water bath of proper temperature or other bath or by means of heating the tray with the core, above the melting point of the fusible core. This leaves the metallic hollow-walled sheath or shell conforming most closely to the configuration of the core. The walls of the holes referred to above having also been coated in the plating bath, form tubulures in the tray which act as braces passing through the hollow-walled portion of the tray and also afford means whereby the impression material is anchored to the tray in a satisfactory manner as described above.

The tray is now ready to receive the inlet and outlet connections by means of which the cooling medium to be circulated therethrough is supplied and conducted away. These inlet and outlet connections may be made integral with the tray itself, if desired, by casting a mold for them with the molded core, although it has been found expedient to aflix them after the tray walls have been produced. The inlet and outlet openings serve also to permit the discharging of the core material after the plating operation.

Trays made by this method are light-walled, rigid, strong, durable, inexpensive and more satisfactory for the purpose than those used heretofore.

Having thus described claimed is:-

The process of forming a dental tray to fit the oral cavity comprising, forming a core mold material with an electric conducting surface into a required shape for forming a dental tray with openings for inlet and outlet of a cooling medium, providing a multiplicity of small holes therethrough of a size sufficient to produce when deposited upon stiffening members serving to lock and effect rapid cooling of impression material to be used therein, immersing said core in a metal plating bath wherein the material of a higher melting temperature than the material of the core is deposited around said core and the holes therein, then subjecting said coated core to a means for melting said core but not melting said deposited metal thus permitting said core material to escape through said inlet and outlet opening.

SODY SALABES.

the invention, what is 

